By Tyrell Feaster For Dailymail.Com and Ap 03:50 Mar 27, 2023, updated 03:50 Mar 27, 2023
Ja Morant scored 27 points on his return to the starting lineup from Memphis and the Grizzlies held off the Atlanta Hawks 123-119 Sunday night to extend the NBA’s longest active winning streak.
Desmond Bane added 25 points for Memphis and made two baskets in the fourth quarter after Atlanta drew within one.
Memphis (47-27) is second in the Western Conference despite a 15-22 road record. Back-to-back wins away from Memphis offer hope that the Grizzlies will gain crucial momentum in road games in the postseason.
The six-game winning streak began on March 17 with a 126-120 overtime win in San Antonio. A win in Atlanta (37-38) was “huge” according to Grizzlies forward Jaren Jackson Jr.
Another outstanding performance from the talented PG Ja Morant propelled the Grizzlies to a sixth straight win. Morant had 27 points and six assists as Memphis defeated the Atlanta Hawks. After the strong performance, Morant gifted his jersey to Grammy winner “Lil Baby.”
“We haven’t really taken it to the streets yet,” Jackson said.
Morant received a huge cheer from the sold-out Atlanta crowd during the pre-game introduction.
A large contingent of the well-known Atlanta rap community attended the game, and Morant was seen gifting his jersey to Grammy-winning artist “Lil Baby.”
While Morant was signing the jersey, Lil Baby was seen singing “It’s a parade up in my city yea,” the NBA YoungBoy lyrics that have become a rallying cry for the Grizzlies due to Morant’s affinity for singing them.
He came off the bench in his first two games after serving an eight-game NBA suspension for posting video of himself brandishing a gun live on Instagram at a Denver-area strip club became.
After the incident, Morant took time off from the team to visit a counseling center in Florida to learn how to better manage his stress.
The NBA still suspended Morant for eight games for “deferential conduct to the league,” though both a police and NBA investigation found he had not violated any league rules or Colorado state law.
Morant’s minutes were still being watched closely by coach Taylor Jenkins, who benched the two-time All-Star early in the fourth quarter when the Hawks made an attack.
Saddiq Bey’s 3-point game for Atlanta cut the Grizzlies’ lead to 98-87 before Bane responded with a pocketed jumper. AJ Griffin’s knight again pulled the Hawks inside a basket before Bane responded with another basket.
Morant appeared to be holding a gun in a live Instagram video in the early hours of March 4. Morant danced topless at a strip club
“We fell into a trap trying to figure out Ja’s minutes,” Jenkins explained.
Jenkins said before the game he hopes to keep Morant’s minutes in the “upper 20s.” Morant played 29 minutes.
Minutes later, Bane’s 3-pointer gave Memphis a 110-103 advantage. The Hawks made one final push, cutting the Grizzlies’ lead to 122-119 on De’Andre Hunter’s 3-pointer.
A Tyus Jones free-throw increased the lead to four points, and Atlanta called a time-out with 11.6 seconds left.
Trae Young, who led Atlanta by 28 points, missed a short jump before Bogdan Bogdanovic’s 3-pointer from the corner was no good either.